Disclaimer:
I don't own Inuyasha, who belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. This will
hold for the rest of the drabbles in here.

Author's
Notes: Written for the iy no kakera 100 themes set 2.

Start

At
the start, he couldn't quite figure her out. She was chatty and
bright and the complete antithesis to what he was, dead and dark and
blind.

At
the start, she didn't seem him properly, hidden as he was in the
shifting, daunting shadows of the corner. Like all children, she
poked and prodded curiously, eager to find out what this new thing
was.

He
didn't rise to the bait all at once. Being killed from behind often
taught you the value of caution and the wisdom of distrust. Slowly,
cautiously-like a child- he bit, ready to pull back at the slightest
hint of violence.

The
juices ran down his throat, rich and silky, greater and more potent
than the gruel and water Naraku fed him on. His tongue lapped it
hungrily, finally able to taste something other than smoke and blood
and poison in the air. The sweet drowned out the taste of dirt and
bones that had lingered in his mouth.

She
smiled at him. No one had smiled at him like that before- that woman
in the fog had tears and sorrow in her eyes, and if anyone else had
looked at him in any other way, he didn't remember.

It
didn't seem all that bad at the moment.

She
smiled at him in a way "not-exactly-but-similar" to the way she
smiled as Sesshomaru. It was happy and pleased but at the same time
lacked the reverence and innocent gratitude of the smiles in tribute
to her youkai lord.

He
thanked her then- his words were short and his voice felt rusty and
unused- the opposite of his weapon.

As he
spoke, he realized he felt a little better.

It
wasn't much.

But
it was a start.

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